


Synapse Misfire

by madamewriterofwrongs



Series: Buddie First Kiss Week [7]
Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Buddie First Kiss Week, Buddie First Kiss Week 2020, Feelings Are Confusing, First Kiss, Getting Together, Light Angst, M/M, Soft Eddie Diaz, Talk about feelings, Tumblr Prompt, Vulnerable eddie diaz, buck is worried, eddie is trying, is it even angst if it's just internal confusion?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-07
Updated: 2020-06-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:41:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24589987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madamewriterofwrongs/pseuds/madamewriterofwrongs
Summary: Eddie left the door of his truck swinging as he rushed out onto the street. In front of him, he saw police cars, fire engines, and more than one ambulance driving away. Strewn across the road were half a dozen cars in various stages of destruction. Some were totaled beyond recognition. There had been a bad accident here. The noise itself was enough to make his head spin; sirens and shouts filled the air. But as he stood in the middle of the chaos, he only had one focus. Find Buck.“Eddie?” Hearing his captain’s voice pulled him out of his stupor but not completely. His mind was still swimming but he could make himself look away. Look at Bobby.Bobby. Bobby had called him here.“You said something about an accident.” His voice shook as he struggled to remain calm.
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz, Evan “Buck” Buckley & Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Series: Buddie First Kiss Week [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1769068
Comments: 13
Kudos: 226





	Synapse Misfire

**Author's Note:**

> My last entry for the Buddie First Kiss Week (Author's Choice).
> 
> I choose...feelings? The basic concept is that feelings are confusing and you have to sometimes talk around those feelings to get to the point. I hope that makes sense. Or I hope you enjoy the journey of getting it to makes sense. 
> 
> Writing for this has been really good for me. I love these two dopes, obviously, but right now it's something I needed and I hope the entries being presented this week have offered some kind of comfort or escape for you, too.
> 
> Thank you for reading.
> 
> Check out my tumblr [madamewriterofwrongs](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/madamewriterofwrongs/blog/madamewriterofwrongs)

Eddie left the door of his truck swinging as he rushed out onto the street. In front of him, he saw police cars, fire engines, and more than one ambulance driving away. Strewn across the road were half a dozen cars in various stages of destruction. Some were totaled beyond recognition. There had been a bad accident here. The noise itself was enough to make his head spin; sirens and shouts filled the air. But as he stood in the middle of the chaos, he only had one focus. _Find Buck_.

When Hen came up behind him, ripping off a used pair of latex gloves, he didn’t notice until she spoke. “Eddie?”

“Where is he?”

“Where’s who?”

“Buck. Where’s Buck?”

He snapped his head to her and whatever she saw in his eyes startled her.

“He’s over there.” She pointed, not looking away from him for a second. “What’s going on?”

Across the street, sitting on the curb, Buck rubbed his elbow and moved it back and forth as if testing it. His red t-shirt was rumpled and stained with dirt and engine oil. _It’s not blood_. There was definitely a piece of gauze taped to his arm but it was small and from Buck’s bored expression, he wasn’t otherwise injured.

 _He’s okay._ The thought hit him like a wave of nausea and he saw stars for just a second. Hen reached out a hand to catch him but he didn’t stumble. Just froze in place, looking at Buck.

“He’s”

“Eddie?” Hearing his captain’s voice pulled him out of his stupor but not completely. His mind was still swimming but he could make himself look away. Look at Bobby.

Bobby. Bobby had called him here.

“You said something about an accident.” His voice shook as he struggled to remain calm.

The captain nodded clinically – still in a serious commander mindset.

“Buck witnessed the accident and called it in. Apparently, he got a little scrapped up trying to help some of the drivers but it’s nothing too serious. I’d still like him to get his arm checked out so I was hoping you could give him a ride to the hospital. Can’t trust him to drive himself there.”

Eddie felt dazed as the words travelled through his mind for processing. Some of it didn’t stick but what he heard was that Buck was okay. _He’s okay._

Bobby clapped a hand on his shoulder and tried to meet his eyes but they were unfocused. “You’ll take care of him, right?”

He hardly trusted himself to speak so he nodded vigorously. Eddie was vaguely aware that two of his friends were staring at him like he might break at any moment – and maybe he might – but he hated their eyes on him. So, he looked over at Buck, who was now just sitting on the side of the road looking at the scene in front of him with vague concern. Somewhere in his mind, Eddie observed that there were no other victims at the scene and the cars had been pushed to the side of the road. All that was left was the cleanup. It was over. _He’s okay._

As if hearing his thoughts, Hen gave him a comforting smile. “He’s all right, Eddie.”

He swallowed and nodded again, finding some voice that was deep and tired. “I know.”

And then he was alone, standing in the middle of chaos, and all he could see was Buck.

Buck, who was all right. Buck, who had helped people in an accident. Buck who needed him to drive him to the hospital. No time for his head to spin or his hands to shake. He willed his legs to move as he worked to school his features into something more monotone than what he seemed to have on.

He was halfway to Buck when the man finally noticed him, standing up to greet him with a smile. Eddie almost lost his composure again. _He’s okay._

“Hey.”

“Hey.” Eddie responded. It sounded weak. He cleared his throat. “Heard you tried to play hero.”

Buck smiled playfully, showing off the bandage on his arm like a point of pride. “Nah, I just got a little scrapped up.” Eddie looked down at the white gauze and another wave struck him. _He’s okay. He’s safe. Look at him. He’s okay._

“Are you okay?”

Eddie snapped back to Buck’s face, now marred with concern. Why was everyone so concerned about him today? He replied with, perhaps, a little more forcefulness than was required. “Yeah. Let’s go.” He turned and headed back to his truck, the driver door still open – _idiot_ – and hoped Buck was following him.

\--

The drive to the hospital was agonizingly long. Bobby had told him that Buck couldn’t be trusted to drive himself but he barely trusted himself behind the wheel at the moment. His chest hurt from holding his breath, and then breathing too hard, and then holding it all in when he’d arrived on the scene. He felt like his hands were going to start shaking again so he held on to the steering wheel for dear life.

_Finish this and you can go home and stop feeling like you’re about to implode at any moment._

His skin was on fire – or was it cold and clammy? Was he even focused on the road? He needed to focus on getting them to the hospital and back to Buck’s car in one piece. Then he could freak out.

“So, are you going to tell me what’s up?” Of course, Buck would notice that he wasn’t okay ( _trees, infants, small woodlands creatures could notice that he wasn’t okay_ ) but he didn’t have the words for it. Not right now.

“Nothing’s up.”

Beside him, his friend crossed his arms and examined him. Eddie clenched his jaw to keep from looking over at him. It would just send him spiraling again.

Buck raised an eyebrow at him. “You haven’t looked me in the eye since we left the accident and you’re gripping that steering wheel awfully tight.”

“I’m driving.”

“Look if this is about the accident, I wasn’t being reckless. Okay? I was just trying to help until the paramedics arrived and I cut myself on a piece of broken windshield. I didn’t try and pull a stunt. I-I was almost cautious.” Somehow hearing about it only made Eddie feel worse. Buck thought Eddie was mad at him for taking a risk. Thought that he was mad at him at all. Maybe he should be mad. Add another emotion to the melting pot in his stomach. Eddie didn’t have any energy left to reassure him.

“Good.”

There was a moment of silence and Eddie let himself hope that the matter would be dropped. “Is Christopher okay?” Of course he wouldn’t drop it.

“Christopher is fine.” He snapped. But that wasn’t fair to Buck. He softened, just a touch. “He’s at school.”

“Right.” Buck sat back in his seat, still staring at Eddie’s profile like it might reveal all his secrets. It might. “Are _you_ okay?”

Eddie gripped the steering wheel tighter. “I’m fine. Just focused.”

Buck looked him over again, could feel him squinting his eyes and hear him deciding whether to push the issue. If he did, Eddie might actually crack and that. That could not happen while he was driving.

“Alright.” Buck seemed to decide against it and looked back at the road before them. “I don’t believe you but alright.”

The rest of the drive was silent and it only made Eddie’s thoughts louder.

_It’s okay. He’s okay. You’ll be okay. If you can just get this over with quickly._

As they pulled up into the hospital parking lot, Buck paused before getting out. He ducked his head low, trying to hide his frustration. But Eddie still saw it. “Thanks for coming to get me.”

He swallowed, a feeling of guilt mixing in with the slew of emotions that were already threatening to boil over. He needed to get a grip. “Yeah.”

\--

Days later and Eddie was still in a mood. Granted, he was much better at hiding it – didn’t feel like all the cracks in his armor were showing – but he was quieter at the dinner table. He was a little less aggressive when he played Mario Kart. He offered to wash the truck because it would give him time alone. Away from everyone. He did his job and did it well but when they weren’t working a scene, he felt like he couldn’t trust himself. So he went downstairs to get started on his chores without acknowledging that he was leaving.

Buck watched him disappear around the front of the truck, chewing on his tongue, lost in contemplation. Maybe the others had noticed Eddie’s strange behavior. He still couldn’t figure it out. The firefighter approached his companions who were sitting at the dinner table, playing a card game he didn’t recognize.

“Has Eddie seemed off to you lately?”

Chimney shook his head, throwing two of the cards in his hand away. “No. Why?”

Buck leaned over a free chair, trying to seem casual but inside, there was a red light flashing that said _Eddie’s in trouble. What if he’s fighting again? Or worse._ “Something isn’t right. He’s upset about something but he won’t tell me what.”

Hen picked up a card from the deck but hummed in agreement. “He did seem pretty rattled when he came to pick you up the other day. Do you know if Christopher’s okay? Or maybe his grandmother?”

“Christopher’s fine.” He’d seen him yesterday and was nothing but giggles and warm hugs. “And he’d tell me if something happened to his Abuela.”

Bobby laid four of his cards on the table and the other two groaned in defeat. Once some of the protesting had died down, the captain looked Buck and gave him a thin, reassuring smile. “If we need to know, he’ll let us know.”

Memories of a time not that long ago sprang forth and the table grew silent. Chimney raised his eyebrows at Bobby. “You sure about that, Cap?”

So, his conversation with his teammates hadn’t reassured him in the least. Buck found himself drifting back to the railing, watching Eddie methodically work his way around the truck. Maybe Buck was just imagining the overly aggressive way he wiped the handles. Or the way his chest heaved when he sighed like he was carrying the weight of the world.

No, something was up with Eddie. But if he wouldn’t open up to Buck, what could he do? He wouldn’t push him again – since that discussion had gone over swimmingly. He’d never seen Eddie so tense as when he was driving him to the hospital. Even when Buck had reassured him that he was fine – and then showed the paperwork from the hospital that confirmed it – Eddie still seemed tense and withdrawn.

All the worst-case scenarios ran through his head but be kept coming back to the same troubling thought:

_Why wouldn’t he tell me?_

\--

Eddie wanted to tell Buck. He really did. Hated feeling his friend’s eyes on him at all hours; that same look of concern and curiosity written all over his face. Buck wanted to ask him but was giving him his space – and for that, Eddie was eternally grateful that this man knew him so well.

So maybe the guilt that had settled in his stomach at the hospital was making an appearance once again, because he felt like he owed Buck something. Maybe he couldn’t muster a fully-formed explanation just yet, but he wanted to give him some reassurance that he wasn’t falling off the deep end.

At least not in the way he had before.

Waiting for a time when the two of them could be alone was different problem. As much as he loved his son, having Christopher in the next room would only make him self-conscious. He also couldn’t take him to a bar or restaurant because he had a kid he needed to get home to. So, it would have to be just after work. Maybe as they were walking out to their vehicles, he could pull him aside and tell him. He held out until the end of their shift.

Buck was trying his best to keep his distance but it was difficult when they were packing up at the end of the day and he had the startling realization that they were the only ones in the locker room. Buck took his time getting packed. Maybe if he waited long enough, Eddie would come to him.

Eddie noticed it, too. Noticed the way the air left the glass space when the thought came to mind. He had to sit down. He ran both hands through his hair and tried to gather his thoughts.

_Well. No time like the present._

“It was about the accident.” He couldn’t look at Buck but he knew he’d heard because he dropped his bag to the ground.

“I told you, I was”

“Not you.” Carefully, Buck took a place at the bench across from him so they were face to face. Their knees touched for just a second but he was precariously sitting in his position, ready to bolt up if Eddie told him to leave. And he waited.

Eddie stared straight ahead, or down at the ground, or anywhere but at Buck. Struggling to gather his thoughts but very aware that they could be interrupted at any moment, he tried to find a place to start.

“I got a call from Bobby and all I heard I was ‘Buck’, and ‘accident’.”

Realization swept over Buck’s entire body. Part relief and part devastation. Now he understood. “You thought I had been in an accident.” And it had torn Eddie apart.

“On the drive over, I just kept thinking about what would happen if you’d” the words dissolved in his mouth, he would never let them leave. He felt it, though. “What I would tell Christopher. And then you were all right and I was relieved. And I” different words got caught. Words he didn’t have. Words he didn’t understand. “It was just a lot all at once.”

Eddie tried to calm his features but now that it was out – or at least Buck had some context and was looking at him with this sort of wisdom he’d never seen on Buck – it was hard to swallow. He didn’t know he was fidgeting with his hands until a hand came over top of them. Buck didn’t hold his hand, just kept his physical presence known. Like an anchor to reality. Exactly what he needed.

Buck kept his hand over Eddie’s and hoped it was enough. Just in case, he muttered a gentle “I’m all right now.” For only them to hear.

He tried to imagine it. Tried to picture himself getting a phone call from his captain – his friend – telling him to come downtown because Eddie had been in an accident. The dazed look and the white-knuckle driving suddenly made perfect sense. He didn’t have a word for the pain in his chest at the thought of losing Eddie but if that man was feeling half as bad as he did, then he needed to make him feel better.

Needed to lighten the mood. “It’s nice to know you care about me.” He offered him a smirk but when Eddie looked up at him with red eyes threatening to spill over, he knew he’d made the wrong move.

Eddie chocked out “Buck”

“I know, I know.” He soothed. Okay, so no jokes. Maybe a little honesty would help. “For the record, I would have done the same thing if I’d heard that. Probably with a bit more spiraling.” He recalled a dark and stormy night when he’d tried to dig his way down 30 feet of mud to rescue his friend _._ Yeah, it was a lot all at once. “Is that okay?”

For the first time in days, Eddie let his lips curl into the tiniest smile. “I think I can learn to live with that.”

So, he’d said it out loud – the thing that had terrified him and made him act so strange. But now all Eddie had left to think about was _why?_ And that required a little more contemplation, and maybe a few more sleepless nights.

But Buck understood. He didn’t know what he understood, but Buck seemed to understand why Eddie had freaked out at the accident. And that brought him a small bit of relief.

After a minute of silence shared between them – safe in their understanding – Buck became aware of how sweaty his hand was getting resting on top of Eddie’s. He squeezed it with a smile.

Whatever he was feeling, Buck wanted Eddie to trust him with it. To feel like he could tell him anything. Because he wanted to be able to do the same back. He didn’t have a lot of people he could turn to at all hours of the day and know they would have his back (in their own way. He also knew that Eddie would kick his ass if he actually did something stupid – which was as good as having his back because he cared enough to kick his ass).

So, he squeezed his hand with a reassuring smile. “You know you can talk to me about it, right?”

Eddie laughed but it only came out as a puff of air. He had spent many of those sleepless nights trying to comprehend that very concept, and had no energy left. “I don’t even know what ‘it’ is.”

Buck looked at Eddie – tried to really look at him. See if he could decipher the answer from just his pained expression. Maybe he could help Eddie figure it out, too. But he couldn’t see anything there that spelled out what Eddie was feeling. Eddie didn’t even seem to know what he was feeling. This could take some time, and he would give it to him because Eddie was his friend and he cared about him.

Buck patted the hands that he still held, bringing them both out of the protective bubble they’d lived in for the past few minutes. “If you want to talk, I’m here for you.” He nodded when Eddie didn’t respond, rising from his position to grab his bag.

Eddie stayed seated; he wasn’t sure his legs would work if he tried right now. As Buck stepped away, he managed to choke out “Thanks.” That wasn’t enough. “Thank you, Buck, for…being you.”

Buck’s smile was as bright as sunshine. “Only me to be.”

\--

Poor Eddie. Poor naïve, overwhelmingly confused Eddie.

He’d been at home, washing dishes, doing laundry, and generally killing time until he had to pick up Christopher from school – because for once, he had the day off and he just wanted to relax. And then Bobby had called and the first thing that happened was his ears started ringing. And then his chest constricted and his hands shook and he was out the door so fast, he was amazed to find he had shoes on his feet.

Driving to the intersection Bobby had given him sent a million thoughts racing around his head. _Why is Bobby calling him to the accident not the hospital? Did Buck not make it to the hospital? What was he going to tell Christopher? How was he going to handle going into the work the next day without Buck?_

They kept racing and spiraling downwards until he’d flung himself out of the truck and onto the devastating scene.

And then Hen had pointed to the curb and Buck was alive and he hit a brick wall. Everything stopped and he was dizzy from the sensations.

What the hell did it all mean?

He couldn’t talk to the team about it – he certainly couldn’t talk to Buck about it – and he didn’t have another therapy session until next week. He could hold out a week, he had decided. He could push down the agonizing fear he’d felt at the thought of losing Buck, and the distressing questions around why he’d felt that way, and save it for Frank. Next week.

And then Buck had been there. Just sat with him and let him talk in circles without actually coming to a conclusion. But he still understood. Even if he didn’t…understand. Telling Buck had only made him acutely aware that his feelings were significant. They were an ‘it’ and that was…new.

And throughout all of this, he realized that he owed it to Buck to try. Because he hadn’t done anything to deserve being shut out. It wasn’t fair to him. So he had to try.

Even if he felt like his words were circling down a drain leading to…who could tell. He would try.

The night after their talk at the station, Eddie knocked on Buck’s door. Yes, he had a key, but he felt a strange need to get Buck’s permission to enter his home.

Of course, Buck opened the door.

“Eddie, what”

“I think I figured it out.” He blurted before he could lose his nerve. He was trying.

“Figured”

“What ‘it’ was. About the accident.”

“Oh.” Buck looked hopeful for only a second before he seemed to catch himself. Without another word, he opened the door to Eddie and he walked through.

They didn’t speak until they were both seated at the table. On most nights when they hung out after work, they’d lean against the island or sit on the couch. But the air was metallic with the taste of ‘we need to talk’ – the serious talk that usually ended with someone getting hurt. But they sat across from each other anyways.

When they did speak – or when Eddie spoke – it was quiet and without much eye contact. He kept searching the ground like he was waiting for a sinkhole to swallow him up (hoping it would?). But it never did. So, he tried.

“When Shannon and I were together, I used to wonder what I would do if I ever got the call saying she was gone.” His chest would ache and he’d feel a wave of sadness cloud his mind. “When it did happen, it was so complicated. I was angry and hurt and guilty.” Then, his mind had been clouded with too many emotions to separate, and the ache in his chest felt like the disappointment of too many missed opportunities. “But I still miss her. And when I think about how I almost lost Christopher?” Eddie couldn’t breathe. Wouldn’t bring himself to explore even that hypothetical. He shook the notion away. “I _can’t_ think about it.” He searched for the words again. He couldn’t quite find them, couldn’t identify them even if he saw them. He tried to find other words. “Somewhere in between there is how I felt when I got that call from Bobby.”

Buck had stayed silent, observing and waiting, while Eddie gathered his thoughts. Listened as he spoke about losing and almost losing the people he loved most. And then he’d said _that_ and…

“Wow, that’s serious.”

Eddie’s head shot up. He hadn’t forgot that Buck was there – not by a long shot; he could feel the brush of their knees as they sat across from each other – but he wasn’t sure what he was expecting in response to his confession. The confession he hadn’t realized was coming until he’d said it. And Buck was right. That was serious. Whatever words he couldn’t find, the implication was certainly real. And the fear of rejection…yeah that was also very real.

“I don’t want to put anything on you”

“Hey,” Buck lowered his whole body to catch Eddie’s eye. No way was he letting that go. “did you seriously think I would be mad about this?” What he saw on Eddie’s face sent him reeling. He’d seen his friend cry before. Seen him angry and joyful and scared. He’d never seen this look before. This haunted, terrified, hopeful combination. He would give anything to wipe that look off the face of the earth. “Look, I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about what it would be like if we were… more than friends – we’d be great at it.”

Eddie raised an eyebrow at that; feeling, for just a moment, like himself. “Really?”

“No, we’re both emotionally stunted.” Buck pulled a smile from them both. “But we would be hot together.”

“Damn right.” Eddie was floored. Buck, and his insane ability to break the tension without shattering the impact of the moment. His ability to get Eddie to fall into their natural habits like he hadn’t just confessed…whatever he’d just confessed to his best friend.

It was Buck’s turn to feel vulnerable – not that he hadn’t been, but now he had to step up. Because that look on Eddie’s face was never going to appear again. He rolled his tongue around his teeth as he gathered a little courage. The heat was staining his cheeks red as he spoke. “And I would be willing to work on my emotional stunted-ness, if you were?”

When they made eye contact again, it was a very different exchange. In the silence, Eddie heard what Buck was offering; saw the shy smile and the darting, nervous glances. Eddie found himself breathless once again, but now it was full of wonder and admiration.

“How are you so calm about this?”

“Because it’s you.” Buck said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. His head was swimming again. “And yeah, it’s kind of a lot. But it also makes sense, doesn’t it?”

“None of this makes sense.” He confessed. He hadn’t dared to imagine Buck’s reaction when he was driving over tonight but this, was definitely not what he could have imagined even if he’d tried.

“Would it help if I kissed you?”

Eddie’s mind flashed back to a random moment in time; a lifetime ago, it seemed. After the earthquake (what a rough first month that had been for him), he was rushing out the door to pick up his son only to realize his hands were shaking too much to drive. An overstimulating day combined with the anxiety of leaving his son at school alone afterhours meant he could barely see straight. And Buck, his coworker of a few weeks – Buck, who had spent their first day acting like a dick because he wasn’t the baby of the family anymore – Buck just grabbed his shoulder and said ‘I’ll drive.’ It was so casual and sincere and a genuine offer to help just because he wanted to help.

That was how he offered to kiss Eddie.

His laugh devolved into a bit of a sob. It just felt so ridiculous. But he still felt so confused and lost and maybe a little curious to see what would happen. So he shrugged.

“I don’t know. Maybe.”

With Eddie’s permission, Buck reached out a hand and held his chin with the gentlest touch. It made him feel warm and excited and kind of tingly with anticipation. And then Buck was pulling Eddie in and the sensation spread through his entire body.

Eddie tried to be clinical about it but his senses were quickly being drawn in. Buck’s mouth was soft, and he was pressing their lips together like it was precious and tentative. Because it was. It was new and exploring. Their only other point of contact was a steady hold on his chin, warm and sure; an anchor to the world. And then Buck was pulling away and Eddie had the sudden panic of _not yet_!

He reacted on impulse, leaning further across the table, and he could feel Buck smile against his lips. He could _feel_ it. Not just see it or hear it. Eddie felt the deep desire to bite Buck’s bottom lip and feed off that smile. But he didn’t. Just kept letting Buck pull him close and press their lips together. And if he inhaled and found the scent of Buck’s cologne made him dizzy with want…well that was just something else to catalogue for analysis. Along with this endless, breathtaking kiss.

When Buck finally pulled away, Eddie chased him for just a moment but without the hold on him, he fell back into the chair.

“How was that?” Buck sounded just as breathless as he was, which seemed like a good sign.

Words. He needed to form words. Buck had asked him a question and he’d come over here to use his words, but using his tongue for something else seemed like a much better idea. But first, he needed to make words come out of his mouth.

“Yeah,” he finally mustered, still dazed and maybe a little high. “I-uh, I guess we could do that again.”

Buck was also sitting back in his chair, all breathless and open-mouthed grins. So, he had thought about this more than once or twice. He wasn’t resigned to being Eddie’s friend – he loved being Eddie’s friend. But if making him feel better meant getting to pull that kind of desire out of him with just a kiss, Buck would happily stop being friends with him.

Eddie ran through his thought process while he waited for his heart to stop beating so loudly. He’d been crushed at the thought of losing Buck, Buck had admitted the same feeling. He’d told Buck what had happened and Buck hadn’t run away. In fact, he’d offered to try and work something out together. And then Buck had kissed him and his brain got a little fuzzy on the details but he might want to do that again and never stop. But he wanted more and Buck had offered him more. And, again, the kiss was very nice.

So, in conclusion.

“Are we really going to do this?” Eddie stared wide-eyed at his friend – his partner – in wonderous disbelief. ‘This’ being something more than friendship. ‘This’ being open and honest with each other. ‘This’ being coming home at the end of the night, and being able to touch and kiss and hold if he wanted to.

A million more ‘this’s were contained in that question.

Buck answered them all with a bright, happy – just, genuinely _happy_ – smile. “Let’s do this.”


End file.
